The Story about a Chair.....

Once upon a time there was a girl who was very in love with a sweet boy. The boy was very sensible and wanted to have things in order before they would be married. So he bought a lovely home, the girl finished her B.A. and the Christmas before they were married the girl bought the boy this rocking chair for his office.

The years have gone by much to quickly. The chair has gone thru some transformations ( and so have the girl and the boy).

This weekend Jonathan and Jill came to visit and to try out the "chair". They would love to have a rocking chair for the new baby, but along with the other costs of starting a nursery, they wondered if this could be THE chair. They loved it!

There is something very touching about knowing that the chair the young girl bought the young boy would now soothe and rock their first grandchild.

Kind of perfect that it matches the crib wonderfully. So after the young boy ( who is now the excited Grandfather to be) touches up the nick here and there with some stain, the chair is off to the unholsterer for a fresh new look.

We are counting the days til the birth, and loving the moments of remembering when we were waiting for our first baby. How could time have moved so quickly?

Have you wondered.....

We all remain deeply affected by the tragedy of Haiti. Now our prayers go to those who have survived the devastation and we pray for the lives they will now be leading.

Have you wondered what more we can do to help? Would you feel like I do ( SEW INSPIRED) to share in something to help those who are in such great need?

I connected with this blog today,

http://ihavetosay.typepad.com/randi/2010/02/sewing-seeds-for-haiti.html and my mind has been whirling ever since. We can make a difference, and I think it will be a great opportunity to connect our God given gift to sew, with those who will be blessed with the fruits of our labor.

So for those of you who live close enough to QIAD, we are having a "Sewing for Haiti" day on Feb. 14th....isn't that the sweetest Valentine you can think of giving???? Orion has given our permission to use the classroom, and will give us a discount on all fabrics purchased. I am pretty sure I have enough stash to pull together a few skirts (G)!!!

If you can't come to our sewing day, please connect with the above blog. It has the best tutorials for easy to make skirts and even the coolest fabric calculator....whew, I don't even have to do the math!!!!
....and here is another way to make a difference. Mary Englebreit http://shop.maryengelbreit.com/ is selling a poster with all proceeds to go to relief in Haiti. So you can SEW or you can BUY, but mostly we can make a difference.

Charming Girl Club.....

Did you ever have the painful and awkward experience when you were a child of wishing to be a part of the "In " group, and finding out you weren't quite cool enough? Well, let me tell you the JOYS of being part of the Charming Club.

A few months back, I wrote Kelly an email telling her how sorry I was that I hadn't been participating and that I felt it was unfair to expect her to keep checking my blog to watch my "non-progress". I knew she had plenty of REAL quilters who WERE participating, and that little insecure child in me felt I probably was dragging them all down.

But instead I got the kindest and most touching note from Kelly saying she wouldn't let me out of the club (G)!!! She knew life had gotten a bit chaotic for me and she told me to just resurface when I can.

That note did more than settle my insecurities....it made my heart soar. So here I am back again, and very thankful to Kelly for her very kind heart.

Here is a project I know I will complete...it is work related and I never try to disappoint the boss!!!

The left over scraps will make a cute quilt from this book, which I have to say is one of my favorites. I won it in a blog contest, when I think I wrote something like "I dream of being a Grandmother someday".

So lets hear a shout out to the dear blog friends who we might never meet in person, but they touch our hearts all the same. And one more thing...I just ordered a darling Layer Cake from Kelly's shop. I had hardly sent the email when I got a posting saying it had been processed and I got it in todays mail. It came with a hand written note from Kelly....she is just that kind of a charming gal!

I have been SEW busy....

Ever since I have heard that Jonathan and Jill were expecting, my desire to sew for the new baby has been endless. This weekend I filled this basket with some of the things I have made for the baby, and I hope they will find it of great use!

There is the practical....burpies in every color of the rainbow.

A set of bibs....backed in a soft toweling and appliqued with fun designs.

There are the "just so darn cute" shoes! I think I will make a set to match each outfit. They are so fun and easy to make.

The softest of softest blankets. This one has "Nicey Jane" on one side and a chenille on the other to lull baby to sweet sleep!

.....and I finally finished one of the many baby quilts I have made. This one is backed in Minkie, which is a luxury this bitty baby will love.

Our sweet Mom to be loves butterflies....so I made sure to quilt them between all of the flowers and stems.

After a year of knitting lessons with my Mom I did manage to create a few knitted gifts too. This is "Baby's First Sweater" and a hat to match. Stylish...don't you think???

I thought I would share my first knitting experiment too. Quite far from perfect, but Oma crocheted a trim and made my first attempt worthy of gifting.

No worries that I am anywhere near done spoiling this little girl! I have been finding lots of inspiration...and dream of all the cute outfits I hope to make.

This Oma can hardly wait to hold this much anticipated and much loved baby. In the meantime I am keeping very busy.....SEW very busy!

Amen.....

Our First Retirement Trip.....

Brought us to Sequoia National Park where we saw some majestic mountains and lots of.....

SNOW!!!! We both took tons of photos and can't wait to visit again. The next time we hope the roads will be open all the way to the amazing Redwood trees!

Since Jim LOVES to drive, and I love the quiet time to knit, read and take naps, we went from the snow capped Sierra's to the beauty of the ocean shores.

We nestled into a favorite place for the night, and with a fireplace to keep us cozy, talked about ALL of the trips we hope to take.

If you were wondering if I get to pick any of the spots, I can only say OF COURSE I DO!!!

I spent some wonderful time in "Strawberry Patch" quilt shop in Kern County. Very sweet...and it certainly enticed me to add to my stash!

Yes....pink does seem to be a recurring theme, but NO surprise!!! Or maybe a HUGE surprise if our baby Clare turns out to NOT be a girl.

But I have assured Jonathan and Jill that I can just as easily sew with blue in mind!!! We are counting the days.....such joy!

So what do I think of retirement so far.....loving every minute.

The fun was in the details...

Our sweet "Mom to be" is a voracious reader....so Meghan is certain our new baby will be too! So what better theme to welcome baby than to choose children's literature...and then match it to all the goodies we ate at the shower!

The theme we chose was " A New Story Soon To Be Told".

Here is "Team Baby Shower" sharing a quiet hug with Jill before the party goers all arrived.

Meghan and I had lots of fun coordinating stories and treats. How about "Red Fish, Blue Fish" and fish crackers of all colors.

The "Hungry Hungry Caterpillar" sat next to our salad selections, both fruit and greens.

"How to Make A Jam Sandwich" ( a very cute and funny story) represented our tea sandwich selections.

Peter Rabbit watched over our other table of goodies.....these were bitty quiches ( vegetable OF COURSE)!!!

"Little Pea" is one of my favorites...and sat next to a tray of veggies and dips.

The dessert table was equally filled with fun selections for Baby's library. I had to have my all time favorite "Make Way For Ducklings", and the bitty duck soaps were gifts for the children who shared the party.

Do you know the story "The Carrot Seed"? It is just delightful, and so were the carrot cake cupcakes with marzipan carrots.

Jill has shared that one of her favorite stories is "Madeline", and Oma had just the perfect recipe to go with the story!

But I think this may just be my most favorite of all!!!!

Bitty Mice sitting on cookies....what could be more appropriate, or more tasty????

Of course the detail that most touched my heart are the chocolate booties that Oma made this past week. How dear she is, and how hard she worked to add this sweet contribution to a very fun day.

I do have to thank two special helpers....Wendy, who took my camera and became THE photographer, so I could rest and enjoy the party with everyone else.

....and my friend Linda who helped me to set up, serve and then clean up too. What a great friend and we couldn't have done it without her!

Two more sweet touches. This baby bassinet was filled with flowers and given as a gift when "I" was born. It has since been refilled when I had our children, and now will be refilled again for this next baby to come.

This sweet bouquet was sent by LaDona....Meghan's Mother in Law. She wanted to attend, but sadly the roads were closed ( she lives in Sacramento) so she sent these lovely flowers instead.

How blessed I am that both of our children have married families that they love and adore and I do too!

And finally a picture of Jonathan and Meghan. When the party ended, and things were cleaned up, Meghan held back tears and said "I can't believe my brother is going to be a Dad".

I have to admit, this is causing my heart much joy, but it is also a very emotional time. The weeks ahead will go quickly and soon there will be a baby to cuddle and hold in our arms. I am excited, and look forward to this huge blessing. How quickly the years have gone by.....how much I am looking forward to this new time in our lives.